Durable Goods Orders Sink in March

Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods recorded their biggest drop in seven months in March and a gauge of planned business spending rose modestly, adding to signs of a slowdown in factory activity.

Durable goods orders slumped 5.7% as demand fell almost across the board, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. The drop last month in orders for these goods, which range from toasters to aircraft, followed a revised 4.3% increase in February.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected orders to fall 2.8% from a previously reported 5.6% increase.

Orders for the so-called core capital goods had dropped 4.8% in February and economists had expected a 0.4% increase last month.

Core capital goods shipments, used to calculate equipment and software spending in the gross domestic product report, rose 0.3%. That followed a 1.2%rise in February, suggesting business spending would again contribute to growth in the first quarter.